CRIMINAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY FOR AIR POLLUTION: MIXING TO THE LEVEL OF IDENTITY (REFLECTIONS ON THE QUALITY OF LAWS IN RUSSIA)

Abstract

Atmospheric air is one of the natural goods without which humankind cannot exist, and therefore it is protected by both administrative and criminal law means. However the parameters of this protection are extremely unclear, and neither highly qualified practitioners nor criminal law scholars are often able to separate the offence from the crime. Despite the fact that the legislator uses different terminology, the essence of deviant behavior in both administrative and criminal law is related to two groups of actions: 1) emissions into the atmosphere or other harmful physical impact on it; 2) violation of the rules of operation of various treatment facilities. Purpose: to establish a system of distinguishing marks or, if it is not possible, to propose ways out, by means of an in-depth comparative analysis of the essence of administrative offences and pollution-related crimes. Methods: dialectical method, systematic interpretation, analysis, synthesis. Results: the study shows that the corpus delicti of administrative offences and air pollution crimes are almost identical and cannot be correctly separated. Therefore, the only one way to solve the problem is to change the legislation. The author proposes different options for reforming the corpus delicti, including those that take into account foreign experience.

Keywords

• quality of criminal legislation
• air pollution
• ratio of administrative and criminal law
• environmental damage